‘A grand PR move’?

Ukrainian anti-corruption authorities accuse former prime minister Yulia Tymoshenko of bribing lawmakers

Former Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko, the leader of the Batkivshchyna political party, has been accused of organizing a vote-buying scheme in parliament, Ukraine’s anti-corruption authorities said on Wednesday.

The country’s National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABU) and Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office (SAPO) announced the case in a press release, stating that the head of a parliamentary faction had been charged with bribing lawmakers. Although the announcement did not mention Tymoshenko by name, it included a blurred photo and video footage of a woman with her signature hairstyle — a blonde crown braid — sitting behind a desk with stacks of U.S. dollars.

SAPO spokesperson Olha Postolyuk later confirmed to RBC Ukraine that Tymoshenko had been served a notice of suspicion charging her with bribery. If convicted, she faces up to 10 years in prison.

NABU and SAPO are investigating around 20 Verkhovna Rada lawmakers from other parties on suspicion of accepting bribes in exchange for their votes on specific pieces of legislation. Investigators claim that after NABU and SAPO exposed a cash-for-votes scheme in December 2025, Tymoshenko initiated discussions with other lawmakers, offering them regular bribes. The agencies allege that these were not “one-off arrangements” but rather part of an ongoing scheme to buy votes over a long period. “Lawmakers were to receive instructions on how to vote and, in certain cases, instructions to abstain from voting or not participate in voting at all,” the statement says.

The charges against Tymoshenko were announced after anti-corruption agents searched the Batkivshchyna party office in Kyiv on Tuesday evening. NABU also released audio recordings from a wiretapped conversation allegedly involving Tymoshenko and another lawmaker about paying for votes in parliament. As reported by Ukrainian media, the wiretaps appear to expose attempts to buy votes in connection with a recent reshuffle of the Ukrainian government and security services, initiated by President Volodymyr Zelensky in early January.

The recorded conversation specifically concerns the resignations of SBU chief Vasyl Malyuk, Digital Transformation Minister Mykhailo Fedorov, and Defense Minister Denys Shmyhal. Tymoshenko allegedly instructed the lawmaker to vote in favor of the dismissals but against appointing the three officials to new positions, offering “10” as payment for two parliamentary sessions.

The Ukrainian parliament voted on Tuesday to approve the resignations of Malyuk, Fedorov, and Shmyhal from their respective posts. However, lawmakers failed to appoint both Fedorov and Shmyhal to new cabinet positions. During a second vote on Wednesday, 277 lawmakers approved Fedorov’s appointment as Ukraine’s new defense minister. Shmyhal’s appointment as energy minister also passed, with 248 votes in favor.

Tymoshenko has denied the bribery charges. “I strongly reject all the absurd accusations,” she wrote in a Facebook post on Wednesday. Condemning the search of Batkivshchyna’s office as a “grand PR move,” Tymoshenko claimed that anti-corruption agents had failed to uncover any evidence. “More than 30 men, armed to the teeth, without presenting any documents, effectively seized the building and took the employees hostage,” she wrote, adding that the searches “lasted all night.”According to Tymoshenko, anti-corruption agents seized her work phones, parliamentary documents, and “personal savings” that she claims were included in her official asset declarations.

Tymoshenko also implied that the charges against her were motivated by the possibility of Ukraine holding elections, which have been suspended under martial law since Russia began its full-scale invasion. “Looks like the elections are much closer than they appeared, and someone has decided to start clearing out competitors,” she wrote.

In late December, NABU and SAPO announced that they had uncovered a criminal group that included several lawmakers, who “systematically” accepted bribes in exchange for parliamentary votes. Several high-level politicians were implicated in the scheme, including lawmakers from Zelensky’s ruling party, Servant of the People.